i breathe easier with the weight of your body lying on my chest
by hmpft
Summary: she is far past feeling shame for enjoying him. not after seeing her fingers in his hair, their sighs and sounds dying stars joining with them on the mattress, the floorboards, the carpet of her theater. drabble, Shosanna/Fredrick


"your coffee is getting cold."

he's been talking since they sat down, and it's only just now that he realizes it. her room is small and they are both hunched over while conversation takes up most of the space around them.

she encourages him to drink, after all it doesn't come cheap and after pouring most of her ration's worth of sugar into his cup, he better not let it go to waste.

Fredrick drinks, smiles.

"you indulge me, mademoiselle. i apologize."

Shosanna does not smile, but allows him to see her blush.

"i enjoy your company, soldat, there is no indulgence in that."

* * *

_"you're quite adorable, are you aware?"_

_he doesn't even bother trying to stretch the sheets down past his toes again. the minuscule pile of blankets barely functioned as a makeshift bed for the single theater proprietor, let alone an additional someone another head and shoulders taller than her._

_Fredrick gives a slight smile, face tucked between Shosanna's hands, "oui, now that you've told me it must be true."_

_she feels her stomach twist, "you sweet fool, you."_

_"loving you isn't foolish."_

_he's like a wound, so open and raw. and her, with a fist full of salt._

* * *

she listens to him, leans in with her hands folded and eyes pleased with anything he has to say. it is more than enough to make him nervous, but her mouth stretches slow and deliberate across her face and Shosanna places her fingers over his as if he is something rare and beautiful.

(he is always treated as such, but it did not matter to Fredrick until she did it in that special way that made his heart turn sore).

* * *

_"i'll protect you."_

_she makes no move to respond._

_"we'll have the premiere and we'll escape together after. no one will ever find us."_

_Shosanna closes her eyes and when she opens them all she can do is blankly consider the ceiling while Fredrick traces semi-circles back and forth along her shoulder._

_when she turns to him, his eyes plead for an answer she won't yet allow herself to give, and Shosanna reasons with herself this once._

_(she crumbles against him again and again and again.)_

* * *

Fredrick lifts his coffee to drink a second time, "again, i must thank you for your hospitality; others have always shown me attention, but never... kindness - not like you have, at least."

the ceramic mug warms the hand not touching hers, and the corners of his grin are visible to her over the curve of the rim.

"you're welcome, soldat." Shosanna responds flatly as if his title will put distance between them.

* * *

_sometimes she worries that he'll suddenly shatter._

_he often appears so strong and solid, but here he's dissolved completely in her arms, having accidentally fallen asleep on her pallet during a momentary lull in their conversation. dark strands of hair part and fall across his forehead in the absence of a sidecap._

_she could break his heart._

_"what am i going to do with you, mon amour?" the endearment sticks to Shosanna's tongue and she only says it knowing he can't hear her. _

_she is far past feeling shame for enjoying him. not after seeing her fingers in his hair, their sighs and sounds dying stars joining with them on the mattress, the floorboards, the carpet of her theater. _

_she does not think of how it will be to let him burn._

* * *

the space shrinks between them.

there is no room for isolation within such a place.

("i quite like your stories, soldat.")

* * *

_she holds his face in her hands and tells him he's too beautiful to be crying._

_"why must you hurt so much, my love?"_

_she brushes away his tears with the sides of her thumbs. another nightmare, she thinks but does not bother to ask._

_when Shosanna can no longer stand the sight of his eyes, large and wet, she gathers him up into her chest and holds him tight enough know it. _

_she will break him before she lets memories of death run their course._

* * *

(a reminder.)

"your coffee is getting cold."

he smiles.

* * *

**AN: **quick, kind of choppy drabble i just wanted to get out and finish! i haven't posted here in a while so it felt nice to write Sho/Fred c:


End file.
